


Keep me

by perseusveil



Category: Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them (Movies)
Genre: Alpha Theseus Scamander, Alpha/Beta/Omega Dynamics, Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Brother/Brother Incest, Guilt, M/M, Omega Newt Scamander, grindelgraves, mentions of mpreg
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-05-25
Updated: 2019-05-25
Packaged: 2020-03-17 07:43:04
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,863
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18960877
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/perseusveil/pseuds/perseusveil
Summary: When Newt is thirteen, they discover that he's an omega. Afraid that he will have to live a miserable life, he asks Theseus to become his legal alpha guardian. When Newt gets sentenced to death by MACUSA, Theseus goes to New York but is told that he can't help Newt because they are not mated. Theseus is also informed that Newt was presented with two options: either he gets executed or he is bonded to Percival Graves who doesn't act like the man Theseus knows. Newt, not accepting the options, proposes a different way to Theseus: he should become Newt's alpha. Also, they have to save Tina from getting executed, too.





	Keep me

**Author's Note:**

> I know it's weird that Newt smells like lavender, but I have a good reason for that, promise. It will be revealed in later chapters. Rated for the next chapter.  
> Fill for this kink meme prompt: https://fantasticbeasts-kinkmeme.dreamwidth.org/1184.html?thread=1643680#cmt1643680

 “Why me?”

Theseus remembers the words of his little brother clearly. Newt was thirteen, when it was discovered that he was an omega. The signs had been there much earlier, but since their parents were betas they couldn’t smell the way Newt’s scent changed over the years.

Theseus can still recall the first time he noticed Newt’s scent; he was sixteen and Newt was eight. It was directly after he presented as an alpha and got his first rut, that he rode out in the special unit in the hospital wing. Christmas holidays were just around the corner, and Theseus was glad to go home. He had to get used to all the strange new sensations and preferred to deal with them in a familiar environment.

The first thing Theseus said to Newt was, “Why do you smell like lavender?”

He sniffed at Newt. “Are you taking up gardening instead of hippogriff breeding? I thought mom wouldn’t let you touch her lavender, after you caused the Valerian to rot.”

Newt scrunched up his nose. “Gardening is boring. Of course not!”

“All right,” Theseus chuckled at his brother’s reaction, ruffling his hair and hugging him tightly. “I’ve missed you.”

“Me too,” Newt said, hugging Theseus back lightly. Although Newt was generally not fond of body contact, Theseus seemed to be an exemption to that.

Most of the world population were betas, only around 30 percent were alphas or omegas. Although they did learn about physiology and dynamics at Hogwarts, it was a course that was compulsory for alphas and omegas, but only an elective for betas. Theseus presented late, shortly before his graduation from Hogwarts, so he hadn’t taken the class. It had come as a surprise to everyone that he was an alpha, but he didn’t notice anything new to his body, so he didn’t concern himself much with his secondary gender. Studying for his auror classes was much more important to him.

Since their family was mostly comprised of betas and Theseus was already the odd one out being an alpha, no one prepared poor Newt for the signs of his first heat. At the time, Theseus was an auror in training, he rarely visited home, as he was busy studying or meeting people. During Newt’s holidays however, he tried to make more time, especially during the weekends. One day, shortly after Newt’s thirteenth birthday, Theseus had come home to his mother fussing over Newt.

“What’s wrong, mother?” He asked, concerned for his little brother’s health.

“Newt has a slight fever, but other than that he’s fine,” she explained.

“I’ll take care of him, you can rest for now.”

Theseus grabbed the cool towel that his mother had prepared and went into Newt’s room. The first thing he noticed was the strong, yet not unpleasant smell of lavender. Mingled with it, there was another scent; something sweet that he couldn’t quite place his finger on. Maybe chocolate? He knew better than to ask though and instead sat down on the chair next to Newt’s bed. While gently changing the towel on his forehead, he looked at his brother, who looked sweaty and generally unwell. He ruffled Newt’s hair a bit, to cheer him up.

“I hear you’re sick?”

Newt groaned weakly. “Water,” he rasped out, his hand lifted to point towards the half-empty water bottle on his nightstand.

Theseus wordlessly handed him the bottle after unscrewing the cap. The fever must be getting to Newt, and Theseus wished for his brother’s fast recovery. Staying a few days to spend time with Newt was feasible with his busy work schedule, but he’d like to spend those days doing more than sitting at Newt’s bedside. For some strange reason though, he found that he started sweating lightly whenever he was in Newt’s room. Not even opening the windows seemed to really help.

“I’ve been having this fever for two days now, Theseus,” Newt said quietly. “What’s wrong with me? I wasn’t outside in the rain like last time…” Then his eyes lit up. “I’ve been making friends with the bowtruckles!”

“That’s great, Newt,” Theseus replied encouragingly. It would be good to take Newt’s mind off his condition.

“I hope they don’t think I abandoned them,” Newt pouted.

“I’m sure they won’t, because you’ll get better in no time. Why don’t you tell me where you found them?”

“Well, they were in the trees that you get to when you walk…” And so, Newt told his brother all about his recent encounter with the bowtruckles.

 

Strangely enough, the scent grew stronger and stronger. At one point, Theseus had started searching Newt’s room for the source, but couldn’t find any. Sometimes, their mother liked to put lavender bags in their closets to ward of moths or bugs that would eat their woollen clothes. Even those shouldn’t smell so strongly, however. After two days, Newt was feeling better and with his recovery, the fragrance seemed to grow weaker, until Theseus barely registered it anymore, already having gotten used to it. Eventually, he forgot all about it.

They spent the remaining days that Theseus could spare walking around in the mud, Newt introducing the bowtruckles to Theseus. The creatures were interesting, of that Theseus had no doubt, but still his own interests lay elsewhere. Pickett, however, grew on him and he told him warningly (but also jokingly) that he should take good care of Newt, to which the little bowtruckle stuck out his tongue.

Just a month later, he received a letter from his mother. In it, she said that he needed to floo to their place swiftly, to take Newt to St. Mungos. Apparently, his brother had a fever again and she needed to stay behind as one of their hippogriffs was sick, too. He immediately asked for the day off and rushed to Newt’s side. The packed overnight bag their mother had prepared was already standing next to Newt’s door, and Theseus helped Newt change clothes, as he was still in his pyjamas. Just as they were about to enter the floo, Newt held him by the arm.

“Please, I don’t want to go to St Mungos. Can we please go to your place?”

“Newt, you need medical help! You’re sick again, this can’t be normal.”

“I know what’s wrong with me, please Theseus. I’ll explain, I promise,” Newt looked up at him with big eyes. Since his brother was still more than a head smaller than him, the puppy eyes worked extremely well.

Theseus felt himself give in. “All right,” he sighed. “But if your answer doesn’t satisfy me, we’ll go to St Mungos anyway. Deal?”

“Deal,” Newt nodded, holding onto Theseus for support.

At Theseus flat, he brought Newt to his bed. It was a double, but the rest of his tiny one-bedroom flat was sparsely furnished. After Newt was safely tucked away into the blankets, Theseus demanded to know what was wrong.

“I’ll tell you, but you have to promise me something,” Newt said earnestly.

“Promise you? I don’t even know what this is about,” Theseus said, raising in eyebrow.

“Please, promise me, I won’t tell otherwise,” Newt looked to the side.

“All right, I promise,” Theseus finally relented.

“Promise me that you won’t see me differently.”

Theseus grew more confused by the minute, as Newt gripped the blankets tightly and refused to look at him.

“I don’t have a fever, Thes. This is a heat. I’m an omega.”

Theseus frowned. “What? How do you even know that?”

“I… can feel it,” Newt’s face reddened, and he cleared his throat. “Anyway, do you remember when you asked me why I smelled like lavender?”

“Yes?”

“It means that my body was emitting pheromones,” Newt explained. Then his face looked sorrowful.

“You know how hard it is to do anything meaningful as an omega in this world. They have strict laws about what an omega can and can not do, how am I supposed to study creatures if I have to stay at home and do the laundry?” Newt started crying and hiccupping loudly.

It broke Theseus heart to see his little brother so full of despair, but it wasn’t like what Newt said wasn’t true. Society was extremely restrictive towards omegas and without their alpha’s permission, they were not allowed to sign contracts, lease flats and all other activities that were normal to adults. Withdrawing money from bank accounts was allowed, but they could not own one themselves. And worst of all, if they didn’t have an alpha guardian or bondmate, they were sent to omega houses, where they were treated no better than laundresses, forced to work for little pay and subjected to so called “re-education” which was little better than torturing them, until they became mindless slaves. Those houses were also frequently featured in newspaper articles, detailing their gruesome living conditions and horrible treatment of omegas which included whipping and liberties taken by the staff.

“Shh,” he said, holding Newt tightly. “We’ll think of something. I’m so sorry.”

Newt looked at him with his big eyes that always made Theseus weak to whatever proposal came next.

“You can become my alpha, Thes. You’ll let me work with my creatures, won’t you?” Newt asked, voice hopeful.

“What? But…”

“You don’t need to bond with me in order to become my alpha. It’s enough that you are blood-related, please Theseus.”

“All right, I’ll do it,” Theseus sighed. “Do we have to fill out some paperwork for this?”

“Yes, I’ll get everything ready, as soon as my heat is over. Professor Dumbledore has agreed to help me with it. I sent him an owl, asking for advice,” Newt explained.

“All right. Just send me an owl, and I’ll sign whatever document I need to. I want you to be happy, Newt. I’d do anything for you,” Theseus said, looking at Newt intently.

“Thank you. You’re the best big brother I could ever ask for,” Newt leaned up and kissed his cheek. Then he blushed again.

“Can you leave me alone for a while, though?” He asked in a small voice.

“Of course, sorry,” Theseus replied awkwardly. “I’ll be staying with a friend in the meantime. If you need anything, tell me over the floo.”

 

Just a few days later, Theseus had officially become Newt’s alpha guardian. Their mom didn’t have any objections, seeing as she knew what a restricted life Newt would have to live otherwise. That didn’t mean, however, that she didn’t still want Newt to join the ministry.

“Your brother can take better care of you and protect you that way,” she’d said, making Theseus roll his eyes.

The real reason was that she saw the care of magical creatures as a hobby, not a profession. Since Newt was an omega, he wouldn’t be able to get a high-ranking job or one with a lot of responsibility, but joining the ministry as, for example, a secretary, was not impossible.

“Let Newt have this hobby mom, his future mate can earn the money. Omegas don’t need to work hard,” he argued.

Unfortunately, Newt had overheard their conversation, and ran into his room. Theseus followed him and knocked on the door gently.

“Can I come in?”

“No,” was the quick reply.

“Please?”

A few moments passed.

“Fine.”

Theseus transfigured one of Newt’s books into a rather uncomfortable chair and sat down. His brother had hidden under the blankets and refused to come out, no matter how much Theseus poked him. Finally, Theseus had had enough and just threw the blankets back. Then he took his brother’s hand in his, feeling guilty when he saw the slightly puffy eyes.

“You promised me that you wouldn’t see me differently,” Newt said quietly, a slight accusing tone to his voice.

“I didn’t mean it like that. Sometimes mother is so conservative, I thought that might be a good reason to her, you know?” He hoped his explanation got through to his brother. “It’s not like I think that way, really.”

“I don’t want some alpha who will control my whole life. I want to travel and learn about all the creatures in the world,” Newt mumbled, feeling defeated and avoiding eye contact.

“I know.”

Although he truly did not know what Newt’s future would hold for him. Theseus was a temperate alpha, not known to any outbursts or pheromone-influenced bad behaviour. Unlike his colleagues and some repulsive knotheads he’d witnessed acting out in pubs or on the streets, he never tried to assault an omega in heat. Sure, some of them smelled heavenly, but he strangely never felt a real urge to mate with them. And since he knew better than Newt how the world worked, he was worried.

“I have you, Theseus. I don’t need anyone,” Newt said with conviction.

“But one day you’ll want someone to bond with and to have children,” Theseus argued. “Don’t worry. I’ll make sure your alpha treats you right, that’s what big brothers are for, right?”

Somehow, the thought of some unknown alpha being Newt’s bondmate made him feel all strange inside. It was a feeling he couldn’t place or name, so he shoved it aside. Trying to distract himself, he playfully hit Newt on the head.

“Everything all right now?”

“Yes,” Newt said hesitantly.

 

Newt was a lucky omega, since his heats were only three days long on average and mild. Having to stay home to ride them out was still a necessity, but he wasn’t completely incapacitated like some other omegas. Heats could vary from omega to omega, with some even acting like they were in a fever dream. They would try to seduce an alpha with their pheromones unconsciously, leading them to get assaulted in the streets, if they weren’t keeping a close eye on their cycle.

The mild heats also helped put Theseus’ mind at ease when Newt was on his travels. Since they were not strong, the emitted pheromones were also way less than they could be, and thus Newt was rarely bothered by unmated alphas that tried to get with him.

A few months ago, scientists had released a new kind of medicine called suppressants that were developed to lessen the pheromones released by omegas during their heat. Although Newt might not need them, Theseus wanted him to be safe, and sent them via owl occasionally, so that Newt would always have them at hand if they were needed.

Their arrangement was working just fine, and if Theseus worried about when the time would come for his brother to get himself a proper alpha and bond with him, he never let that slip in his letters. Newt never mentioned anyone, and Theseus sometimes spent the night with some beta when he was feeling particularly lonely, but other than that he never really found someone else. For an unknown reason, no omega ever smelled as enticing as Newt did.

 

“I need to take time off and go to America immediately, Travers,” Theseus barged into the office without knocking first.

Just minutes earlier he had gotten an owl that Newt was sentenced to be executed and as his alpha, he had the right to object. The letter was signed by none other than his old war time friend Percival Graves. Although he couldn’t imagine any circumstances under which Newt could be sentenced to death, he took it seriously and wanted to clear up the reasons for the, obviously wrong, sentencing.

“Hold on, Theseus, what’s the matter?” Travers asked, looking irritated.

“I just received a letter that my brother Newt is being sentenced to death by MACUSA and as his legal alpha guardian, I have to take care of this.”

Travers raised an eyebrow. “Sentenced to death? For what reason?”

“That’s all it says in the official letter I just received.”

“All right, you go and clear up this madness,” Travers dismissed him with the wave of a hand. “I trust you to resolve this matter in a timely fashion.”

Theseus nodded. “I hope I can be back here in a few days at the latest.”

 

When Theseus arrived in America, properly announced by the British Ministry of Magic, he was immediately granted an audience with Seraphina Picquery and Percival Graves.

He shook their hands firmly.

“I received a letter that my brother was sentenced to death. You can imagine my surprise, when I read this. I strongly believe there has been a misunderstanding,” Theseus emphasized the last word.

“I am afraid not, my old friend,” Percival said dryly, a professional smile on his face.

“Then, pray tell me, what did he do to warrant this sentence?”

Seraphina was the one who answered. “He entered New York without a permit for his creatures or wand and let them loose all over the city.” Then she looked at Percival with a sideways glance. “…Although I do find the sentence too harsh, Percival has absolute authority over these matters.”

Theseus grew angrier by the second and mustered Percival from head to toe. It was odd behaviour for his old friend, indeed. But Theseus couldn’t bother with that, more pressing matters were at hand.

“He does, huh? Let me tell you, the British Ministry of Magic won’t be happy to hear that you are officially sentencing a British citizen to death,” he threatened.

“We don’t have an agreement with the ministry for these matters, Mister Scamander,” Seraphina informed him.

Theseus cursed both, inwardly. The whole situation was true madness.

Percival looked at him intently. “There is another matter at hand. While you are officially registered as Newton Scamander’s alpha in your country, MACUSA has differing laws. Only the bondmate of an omega may decide or object sentencing. Unfortunately, we can not consider any actions of yours regarding this sentencing as legally binding.”

Then he paused, mustering Theseus. “However, I have another proposal: instead of sentencing him to death, he may become my bondmate.”

Incredulous, Theseus looked at Seraphina. She looked very uncomfortable with the whole situation but stayed silent. Percival must have a profound influence on her to get away with decisions and behaviour like that.

“Fine. Let me talk to him, at least,” he ground out.

Percival nodded and said, albeit reluctantly, “Follow me.”

 

The cell Newt was kept in was accessible from all sides, and with him, there was a woman.

“Newt!” Theseus rushed over to the bars and gripped them in his hands. Futilely, he tried to rattle them a few times, which of course had no effect.

“Theseus!” Newt stood up from where he had been sitting. “What are you doing here?”

“They sent me a letter that you were sentenced to death,” Theseus explained. “And now they are telling me I can’t even help you because I am not your mate.”

“I know, Thes,” Newt sighed and looked over to the woman. “This is Tina, I got her into this mess.”

Tina was looking utterly scared by the whole circumstances. “Nice to meet you,” she nodded with a shaky voice.

“Nice to meet you, Tina. I promise, I’ll do anything to get you two out of this situation,” Theseus said with conviction.

“I’m not sure you can, Mister Scamander,” she sighed. “Unlike Newt, I am not an omega and thus do not have any guardian or bondmate that could help me out in this situation.”

Theseus banged against the bars in frustration. He clenched his teeth tightly, trying to think of solutions. “It doesn’t matter, I’ll do anything in my power to stop this madness.”

“Thanks,” she said, unconvinced.

“Newt,” Theseus looked at him intently. “They told me we had two options: either you will be executed, or you take Percival as your mate.”

“I know, they told me already,” Newt looked at the ground, shuffling his feet. “I really don’t want to be bonded to someone like him.”

“I can understand. The Percival I know is a great and honourable man. The person before me was nothing like him. Something must have happened.”

Tina perked up at his words. “Right? I thought the same! He’s changed since a month or two ago and no one’s really realized.” Then she looked embarrassed. “Sorry for interrupting you, but it was nagging me for a while now.”

Theseus narrowed his eyes in suspicion. “This man might be an impostor.” Then he looked at Tina. “I’ll try to prolong the carrying out of your sentence as long as possible. In the meantime, it might be possible for me to expose this charade.”

Nodding to Newt, he turned to leave. He had a few ideas in his mind, like asking Travers for help and finding an expert on American laws.

“Wait, Theseus. I will still need an alpha or they will send me to one of those re-education houses they have here in America,” Newt shuddered at the thought. “I can’t go there, please. They are even worse than in Britain.”

“I know,” Theseus frustratedly said, banging against the bars with one hand in frustration. “But what can we do? It’s not like there is some random trustworthy alpha that we both know. You can’t make a hasty decision, Newt.  What if you end up with an alpha that expects you to stay home all the time? I can’t let that happen.”

“Well,” Newt said, his expression shy. “What if you were to become my alpha, as a bondmate?”

Theseus eyes widened. While he couldn’t claim to be averse to the idea, Newt was his brother. Protecting his little brother had been the most important task to him in his life, and he failed so spectacularly, that Newt was sentenced to death in a foreign country and on top of that he was stuck asking Theseus to become his alpha, just so that he wouldn’t be in a bond with someone terrible. He didn’t want to rob his brother of his happiness.

“Well, we can’t do that,” he replied flatly.

“Why not? You care about me and you won’t try to oppress me, it’s the perfect solution,” Newt argued.

“I… I bet there are laws against siblings mating, too.”

“Actually, there aren’t any,” Tina chimed in. “As long as the pair is compatible, the bond will be officially accepted. As you know, a pair isn’t compatible if the bite mark doesn’t stick and if it does, then it will be accepted as a proper bond.”

“That’s… surprising,” Theseus finished lamely. Looking at Newt with doubt, he couldn’t help but ask, “And this is really something that you want? You’ll be stuck with me, Newt. You won’t have the chance to meet someone else, as long as I live.”

“I do want this,” Newt said with conviction.

Theseus sighed, holding a hand before his mouth in a gesture of helplessness. He searched for Newt’s eyes and held them for a few seconds, searching for any hints of unease. The way Newt looked at him showed him his resolve, however.

“I’ll see what I can do,” he finally said, flashing a quick look at Tina.

They apparently had known each other a bit; she must have been shocked to hear that Newt planned to bond with his brother. Looking at her however, she didn’t seem to judge them.

“I’ll be back, promise.”

 

 

 

 

 

 

 


End file.
